better than perfect
by SoulHorse
Summary: What starts as a bro day ends up...not being a bro day. More like a date day, but who can tell the difference? OR: Kirishima and Bakugou spend a day at the arcade.


"What the fuck?" Katsuki expresses, eyebrow cocked at his best frien—nope, not friend. Shitty Hair.

"C'mon, I think it'll be fun!" Shitty Hair smiles at him, fangs peeking through, and something akin to butterflies jumps in his chest. _Fuck._

"No," he says, despite the whispered urging in his mind to say, to scream _'yes'. _

Shitty Hair pouts and folds his arms. "Why not? I just wanna take you out as like, a thank you! I literally only passed my final exams cuz of you!"

"Tch. Of course you did. I'm the best fucking tutor."

A brighter smile lights up the redhead's face and Katsuki literally sees a lightbulb go off in his head, because the smile slowly turns playful and a teasing light enters his eyes.

With his lip curled upwards in just the right way, and the glitter in his crimson eyes, so much like his own, yet even prettier, Katsuki can't stop the skip in his chest.

Fuck Kirishima Eijirou.

Yeah, he'd like to.

Goddammit.

"Okay, fine. But I think you're just too scared that I'll beat you in all the games there," he says with a cocky smirk. "No wonder you keep turning me down. You're just scared."

Katsuki bristles instinctively and he shouts, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT?! YOU'RE ON, SHITTY HAIR!"

The change is immediate. The smirk slides right off of his stupid, shitty face, and is replaced with a toothy grin that all but radiates sunshine and—fuck his stupid, gay self for spouting poetry about Kirishima Eijirou's shitty smile and eyes and _fuck._ He's in way too deep.

"Ha! Knew you'd go for that!" Shitty Hair—Kirishima—slings his arm over Katsuki's shoulders and laughs delightedly. "After school today! We'll have a bro's day!"

Katsuki doesn't bother shoving him off; he knows the redhead will come right back. Instead, he fumes silently at himself, for taking Kirishima's bait.

Damn him. Kirishima Eijirou knew him all too well.

For some reason, that thought didn't bother Katsuki in the slightest.

x

"C'mon Bakugou!" Kirishima grins at him and grabs his wrist, dragging him out the door. None of their classmates bats an eyelash at the sight and once outside the classroom, Katsuki yanks his arm away from the redhead, feeling his face burn.

"Don't fucking drag me around like that," he snaps, desperately trying to calm his racing heart and flushed face.

Kirishima shrugs in that stupidly cute way of his and smiles sweetly, crimson eyes crinkling. "Well, how else am I gonna get you to go with me?"

Katsuki can't think of a good enough response to that, so he folds his arms and looks away, eliciting a laugh from the other boy.

"Aw, Bakugou. I'll make sure you have a good time, don't worry!" Kirishima teases and he drapes his arm over his shoulders.

"Tch. You fucking better. I'm wasting my afternoon on this."

The redhead pouts and pokes his friend's cheek. "You weren't doing anything anyways!"

"I could be, but now I'm here with you."

A frown appears on Kirishima's face, marring his cute, cheerful expression. "I mean…I wasn't forcing you to come. If you really didn't wanna, we don't have to." Kirishima bites his lip with a tiny fang and Katsuki's heart stutters in his chest. Fuck.

"Oi. Kirishima." Without really thinking, he grabs the other boy's chin and tilts it upward so he could meet his eyes. "You promised me a fun day out, eh? You better fucking deliver."

A blissfully happy smile makes its way back onto Kirishima's face and with renewed confidence, he says, "I'm gonna make today your best day ever!"

Their eyes lock and Katsuki does his best to ignore the quickening pace of his heart and fight the blush creeping up his neck.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Shitty Hair."

x

"Best out of five!" Kirishima's holding back his laughter as he offers his hand to the blonde in front of him. "If I win, you buy me a sundae!"

Katsuki flicks his best friend's forehead with a smirk. "I thought this was your thank you to me, you shitty fucker. No way am I paying for anything today."

"But Bakugou! I ran out of cash when I bought tokens!"

He suppresses the urge to roll his eyes and kiss the pout off Kirishima's lips.

"Fine. I'll buy us sundaes, but only because you'll never beat me in…" He trails off, letting his eyes flicker up to the game title above him. "Mecha Heroes: Ultimate Strike League."

"You didn't even know the name of the game!" Kirishima protests.

"Tch. I don't need to know the name because I already know I'll fucking demolish you."

"Prove it."

A fire lit in their eyes, the two boys make their way to the console and slip their tokens through the slot.

Katsuki's eyes meet Kirishima's and his heart does a backflip at the challenging gleam in the bright red eyes.

_Fuck, that's hot._

"Ready, Bakugou?" A sharp toothed grin flashes at him and it's contagious—he smirks back.

"Hell yeah."

x

"Okay, that's literally unfair." Kirishima licks his sundae, but there's a cute, frustrated furrow in his eyebrows. "How are you so good at everything?! I loved playing that game when I was a kid and I thought I was the best!"

A satisfied smirk creeps up on Katsuki's lips and he can't help but say proudly, "Told ya. I'm number one in everything."

"Damn right you are!" Kirishima turns to his best friend with a bright smile. "You're gonna be the number one hero in no time!"

His heart pounds faster in his chest and he has to avert his eyes from the sunny expression on his friend's face to prevent himself from blushing. _Fuck fuck fuck—_

"So, where are we going next, fucker?" he demands, folding his arms. God, he really fucking hopes Kirishima doesn't see how red his face is.

Luckily for him, the redhead is oblivious and he points out a basketball game in the corner, next to the skeeball machine. "Basketball or skeeball?"

"How about both?"

A large smile spreads over Kirishima's face and _shit,_ he's so _fucking_ adorable. "Seriously?"

"Well, duh, what the fuck. You promised me the best fucking day ever, right?"

His already wide smile blossoms into an even bigger grin. "Hell yeah I did! C'mon bro!"

Like a little kid in a candy store, Kirishima grabs Katsuki's hand and pulls him towards the machines and he can't help but turn pink at the sudden gesture.

Damn him for being a shitty, gay disaster around Kirishima Eijirou.

x

They end up tying at the basketball game and Kirishima obliterates Katsuki in skeeball, although he vehemently denies that the redhead won by pure skill, as Katsuki had ended up destroying the balls with his explosions.

"Hey, you dominated everything else today," Kirishima reassures kindly, rubbing his friend's back. "And we got a bunch of tickets too!" He holds up an overwhelmingly large stack of tickets in his hands to cash for prizes and it makes Katsuki grin; Kirishima always knew how to handle his moods.

"Tch. I'll beat you next time we come! Fucking be prepared to lose," he sneers, but there's malice behind his words. Katsuki doesn't miss the way Kirishima visibly lights up at his words and his heart skips a beat.

God, he's so fucking adorable, it was unfair.

Katsuki may have won most of the games, but he knows, fucking knows, that he's lost his heart to Kirishima Eijirou.

_Goddammit._

"Oh my god—no way!" Kirishima bolts from his side, rushing towards a large, clear case in the center of the room, filled with a pile of plushies.

The claw machine.

"The fuck? Seriously, stuffed animals, Kirishima?" Katsuki demands, eyebrow raised.

The redhead gives him a look, and points excitedly at a small, red, smiling shark tucked neatly under a polar bear, a frog, a raven, and several other stuffed animals. "Look! It's so cute, holy shit—!" A warm smile makes its way onto Kirishima's face and he sighs wistfully, placing his hand on the glass. "I'm so bad at these though. I really wanna get the shark; he's so cute and he's calling my name!"

"Tch. Move over Shitty Hair." Before Katsuki can stop himself, he bumps Kirishima with his hip and slides two tokens into the machine.

"Bakugou, are you—"

"Shut the fuck up, or else I'm gonna lose my concentration," he grounds out as he maneuvers the claw to grab the polar bear. He hits the button and it neatly picks up the animal and drops it into the bin in one fell swoop.

Katsuki crouches down and tugs the polar bear out of the machine, before tossing it to Kirishima, who's eyes are wide with shock.

"Hold this," he says, before inserting another set of coins. In one turn each, Katsuki clears out the way to grab the shark and he doesn't miss the way Kirishima's eyes widen with each animal that comes out of the machine.

"Holy shit," Kirishima breathes. "You're really amazing, Bakugou."

"Tch."

Katsuki pulls the raven out and drops it onto the pile at his friend's feet. Already, a crowd of people have gathered around them, gawking at the sheer amount of animals and tickets. An arcade manager forces his way through the crowd and approaches the blonde almost hesitantly.

"Excuse me, sir? I think you're done here; you have enough stuffed animals—" the manager says, but Katsuki flashes the male a glare.

"Shut the fuck up and let me get this damn shark." He slots in another set of tokens and watches as the claw drops down and collects the smiling shark. It drops down with a satisfying thud and Katsuki grabs it, feeling his face burn, before offering it to Kirishima, who's eyes were popping out of his head.

"For you," he blurts, unsure of what else to say.

Kirishima's gaping at him now. "Bakugou—dude, you didn't…I mean…you didn't have to," he stammers, face flushed.

"I fucking wanted to," is all Katsuki can say, before turning towards the shaking manager. "Oi, can you get me a fucking bag for all these animals?"

"O-Of course."

Katsuki nods before glancing at his friend. "So, you happy?"

Kirishima beams with the goddamn sun and clutches the shark closer to his chest. "Yes! Dude, so fucking happy! I love it!"

"Good. Now." He bends down on the floor where the pile of animals lay, a new, black trash bag set next to it. "Let's clean this shit up and move on."

"Okay!"

x

After lunch (which Katsuki definitely paid for, despite Kirishima's weak attempts), they circle the rest of the arcade, playing every game in sight.

Kirishima beats Katsuki in every music based game, whereas Katsuki dominates in just about everything else.

"Oh shit!" Kirishima stops dead in his tracks, eyes focused on a particular area. "Okay, Baku-bro, we have to go there."

The blonde raises an eyebrow in response. "Where the fuck now?"

A mischievous smile lights up Kirishima's face when he points to the purikura photo booth. "There."

Something jolts in Katsuki's chest at the thought of being in such close quarters to his friend. "Fuck no."

Kirishima pulls out the big guns: his big, round, puppy dog eyes. "Please, dude? For the best day ever?"

He holds his dignity as Lord Explosion Murder who doesn't take purikura pictures for about two seconds before giving in. "Fine."

"Yosh!" Kirishima grabs his hand (for the second time that day, holy shit) and they make their way over to the photo booth.

They slide in and Katsuki leans back against the wall as Kirishima works the machine. He inserts his money and just as the redhead scuttles back to throw his arm around the blonde, a light flashes.

"Oh crap! It's started!" Kirishima laughs and pulls at Katsuki's cheek, making his scowl deepen. "C'mon, smile Bakugou!"

"Tch, don't touch me Shitty Hair," he snaps, but there's no bite behind his words and he doesn't move Kirishima's hand.

They end up taking a lot more pictures than Katsuki expects and he finds himself enjoying the stupid picture taking and editing that comes with it. Finally, they're down to their last several tokens and Kirishima looks him dead in the eye, expression serious.

"We have to make these the best, Baku-bro! Last tokens!"

He allows himself to smirk back. "Damn right we will and I have a great idea."

He takes the tokens from Kirishima's hands and puts them into the machine, feeling an unexpected wave of boldness wash over him.

The two scramble backwards and start with a typical peace sign pose. As the machine begins to count down for the next photo, Katsuki wraps his hand around Kirishima's wrist and pulls him closer. The redhead shoots him a surprised look, but doesn't say a word as he sidles closer and winds his arms around Katsuki's neck, facing him.

The camera flashes again, but Katsuki doesn't hear or see it; the only thing that he can see is the striking red of Kirishima's eyes, feel Kirishima's breath against his face, hear his own fluttering heartbeat at the intimacy.

"Kirishima." The camera goes off again and Katsuki presses his lips against Kirishima's. They're softer than he thought, and Kirishima is a surprisingly good kisser as he cards his hands through Katsuki's blonde hair.

They break away far too soon, and Katsuki feels himself smiling. Happiness bubbles in his chest, blooming in bursts of warmth and god, he's never felt anything like this. He looks at Kirishima, who's smile was warm, beautiful, soft, joyful.

"Hey," Kirishima whispers, and he reaches up to trace Katsuki's cheek. "I like you a whole lot, in case you didn't know."

"Me too," he says, and his voice is shockingly soft. Goddamn the effect Kirishima had on him,

Kirishima laughs and bumps his forehead against Katsuki's. "So, now what?"

"Kiss me again," Katsuki all but whispers and they do.

Over and over and they don't notice the camera flashes go off each time.

It's not until the photo booth beeps at its finishing that they finally break apart, faces flushes, hair mussed.

"Damn. I kinda forgot we were in a photo booth," Kirishima chuckles and scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's fucking whatever," Katsuki says, because his brain has short circuited from the kisses and he _honest to fuck_ can't think of a cleverer line. "Let's see 'em."

Their kisses are plastered over the screen and the two can only stare at them. A hand covers Katsuki's and he looks away from the screen to see a smiling Kirishima.

God, did he ever stop smiling?

Oh well, Katsuki sure as hell wasn't complaining.

"I think these are the best ones."

"Fuck yeah they are."

They print the pictures and Katsuki tucks them into his wallet. Something swells in his chest as he watches Kirishima do the same.

"Where do you wanna go next?" the redhead queries and he tucks his hand into the blonde's. Katsuki can't prevent the smile from spreading over his face.

"I think we should go back to the dorms and I'll cook us some fucking dinner or whatever, and then we can make out in your room."

A brilliant, fanged smile and a squeeze of their hands. "I think that sounds perfect."

They exit the arcade, hands intertwined and swinging casually. In Katsuki's other hand is the bag of stuffed animals, while Kirishima grips his red shark. A comfortable silence falls in between them as they walk.

It's almost sundown and the sky is a lovely mix of orange and red, burning like a flame. The moon is faded and crescent in the sky and Katsuki feels his face warm all over at the sight of the dimming light setting Kirishima's hair on fire.

"Hey Katsuki?" Kirishima asks.

"Yeah?"

"So, was today the best day of your life?"

He blinks at the sudden question and Kirishima's eyes are on him, large and curious. His red eyes seem to glow in the light of the sunset and it's enchanting. Katsuki's legs wobble and he feels like melting under his gaze.

Feeling very much like a sap, he lifts their hands up to his mouth and gently presses a kiss to it.

"It's better than perfect."

The smile that lights up Kirishima's face is stunningly gorgeous and Katsuki can't help but press another kiss to the redhead's mouth.

_Yeah, definitely a better than perfect day._

* * *

**yeah i feel bad for abandoning this account for ao3, but i'm just throwing on uploads here lmfao**


End file.
